by Cohen, Bryan
Jennifer wasted no more time thinking about her friend. She wanted to see her.
Jennifer ignored the stabbing pain in her head as she created a portal and funneled the hazardous radioactive remnants away from the Realm of Souls and into a barren wasteland planet.
She walked up to the edge of the capital and removed the barriers around herself and the city.
A loud cheer went up inside, and the first person to greet Jennifer was a little girl she didn't recognize.
The girl smiled broadly. "You saved the city. I think we should be friends."
Jennifer nodded. "That sounds good to me. Do you know where I can find the people from Earth?"
The girl offered her hand. "I know exactly where they are. I'm Vella, by the way. Are you friends with Ted?"
Jennifer reached the edge of the makeshift refugee camp. There was still blood and charred areas all throughout the space, but the people inside seemed to be celebrating.
A great shriek went up in the crowd as Mrs. Finley came running over to Jennifer's side. "Oh, Vella, you've done such a great thing here. Jennifer! Everyone is saying what you did out there. Since when did you get super powers?"
Jennifer hugged Ted's mom. "It's a long story. Have you seen Erica?"
The light dimmed in Mrs. Finley's eyes. "Oh, dear. Let me get her mother for you. She should be the one to—I'll get her right now."
Jennifer could feel the nerves spreading within her.
Mrs. LaPlante had a bittersweet look upon her face. She hugged Jennifer like she was her own child. "My sweet girl. You saved us all."
Jennifer felt the tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "Erica helped, too. She was the one who told me what was happening. I couldn’t have done it without her. Where is she?"
Mrs. Finley pulled back to look into Jennifer's eyes. "She didn't make it, dear. She died fighting the dark souls' leader."
Jennifer didn't want it to be true, but somehow she knew. She'd known when she heard the voice in her head that it would be the last time they'd speak. Jennifer was surprised when the tears subsided quickly. She took Mrs. LaPlante's hand. "Then, it seems like your daughter is a hero. We should probably celebrate."
Erica's mother smiled with pride. "My sentiments exactly."
Dhiraj sat with his knees bent besides Riu. The boy had fainted for a bit after the bomb of green energy spread through the world. But the two of them were up and alive. That gave them a leg up on Ted, who hadn't moved in minutes.
Dhiraj took a deep breath. "I think that you did it."
Riu smiled. "I know I did. I can feel the world turning back to the way it once was. The dark souls are gone, Dhiraj."
Dhiraj looked back to his fallen friend. "You did a good job, kid. I just wish we all could have been around to see it."
Dhiraj nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the blue shimmering portal form before him. He got to his feet and pulled Riu beside him. "If we don't recognize whatever comes out of that thing, blast it with everything you've got left."
Riu gritted his teeth. "Of course. With pleasure."
Dhiraj's heart pounded until he saw Jennifer Norris emerge from the other side. Relief flooded his brain.
"Thank God."
Jennifer stumbled a bit as she walked toward him, but the beautiful example of humanity stayed upright. Dhiraj grabbed around her waist and held her tight. "We won."
Jennifer smiled, but there was something else behind it. "Good. I stopped the nuke. And the bad guys. Kind of a double win for me."
Dhiraj raised an eyebrow. "Tell me what else happened."
She looked away. "Erica died a second time. Not on Earth but everywhere."
Dhiraj tightened his grip on Jennifer's waist. "I'm so sorry, Jen."
She pressed her face into his neck. "It's okay. She died protecting us. It's what she wanted."
Jennifer looked over at the Oval Office, which had been relocated to the White House lawn.
"Is he? Is he—"
As Dhiraj prepared to break the bad news, Ted gasped to life.
40
Ted leaned against the podium as he looked out on thousands of people who chose to attend Erica's funeral. It had been over a week since the battles that changed the course of humanity. Ted still couldn't breathe without pain, but the doctors had been able to stitch up his wound quite effectively. He tried to focus his watery eyes on the papers he’d prepared below. When he knew that reading wasn't possible, he opted to go from memory.
"Erica LaPlante led several lives. She was my first crush and the girl I loved from long before I had any clue what love was. But then, the girl I knew died and was replaced by someone entirely different, but she protected the original Erica's legacy. She protected the world."
Ted looked out at the people in front of him. He spied Mr. and Mrs. LaPlante sitting in the front row. He saw Dhiraj and Jennifer silently cheering him on. He spied Natalie, who seemed to be encouraging him to go faster with her eyes. He saw people he loved the most, and it made him feel warm.
"We never knew that we were a small part of a battle that lasted hundreds of years before any of us were here. But with Erica's help, even with me almost screwing it up a few times, we ended it. Humanity ended it. And Erica sacrificed herself multiple times to keep our hope alive. So, let's make sure we keep her name fresh in our minds long after our time here is up." He heard the sniffles and tears of his onlookers.
"But there's too much sadness in the world. Let's remember her smile and her laugh. Let's remember how she could kick butt in any fight. When we think of her, let's just be happy. I love you, Erica. No matter who you are. No matter who you were."
The reception afterwards was anything but a somber affair. Much like Ted's eulogy suggested, it was a celebration. Delicious food and lively music filled the massive hall. Ted stood in the corner and watched his friends and family interact. He saw Beth and Winny laughing with Mr. and Mrs. LaPlante. He watched Agents Vott and Harding snag as much food from the buffet table as they could fit on their plates. He saw his father lift up Ted's new adopted sister, Vella, onto his shoulders. His mother caught his eye and winked. Ted couldn't help but laugh.
Dhiraj and Jennifer walked towards him holding hands, the young hero Riu by their side.
Ted smiled in their direction. "Don't get to handsy over there, Dhiraj. I hear there are some Harvard faculty members here that might not want to see too much canoodling from their latest recruit."
Dhiraj stuck out his tongue. "Oh, there will be canoodling. There will be canoodling when Jen starts at Boston U. in the fall. There will be canoodling for all four years of college. And there will be canoodling whenever the lady feels like it."
Jennifer laughed. "I was not informed of all the canoodling that would be happening."
Riu looked up at Ted. "I think it's time. And not just because I can't stand all these personal displays of affection."
Ted sighed. "Are you sure you don't want to stay?"
"I already know that my mother is missing me. Besides, the destiny I came for is done."
Ted gestured for the three of them to follow him. "Fair enough. Let's go somewhere a little more private."
As Ted entered the other room, he couldn't help his breath from being completely taken away. Sitting in one of the chairs in the otherwise empty room was Natalie Dorn in a beautiful black dress. Even with her arm in a sling, she was the woman of his dreams.
"I've been waiting here for 10 minutes. What took so long?"
Ted raised an eyebrow. "Too much canoodling."
Jennifer shrugged. "I had no idea this term was so widely used." She took hold of the book in her hands. "Ted, are you sure you can't do this? My doctor told me he could repair damage that had been done, but I don't want to exacerbate—"
"I'm sorry, Jen. I haven't been able to feel anything close to a superpower since Riu did a bit of spring cleaning."
She nodded and opened the book. Jennifer placed her hand on the pages and a portal opened up in
front of them.
Riu hugged everyone in the room and whispered in Ted's ear. "I'm glad I didn't kill you."
"Me too, kid. We're going to miss you."
Riu took the book from Jennifer's hands, with the instructions to return it and the other books to Reena and no one else.
He looked out at all of them with a smile. "Goodbye, everybody. I'll see you all again, if that's my destiny."
Before they could react, Riu walked out backwards onto the Realm of Souls. The portal collapsed shortly behind him.
Ted looked directly at Natalie. "You taught him how to do that, didn't you? Say something snappy and then disappear to another world."
Natalie put up her hands. "I don't know. Maybe the kid is just a natural."
Ted looked wistfully at the last remaining blue sparks that the portal left behind. It would only be a few minutes before Jennifer no longer had access to the borrowed powers from the books that once sat on the walls of Page's Diner. With Erica gone, Riu headed home, and his own powers nowhere to be found, it seemed as though the next step for him would be a normal life.
But what does normal even mean anymore?
Two weeks later, Ted and Natalie walked along the street of Treasure, which had begun the long process of rebuilding. Shortly after the resurrected human version of President Blake had been impeached, his successor made it a priority to repair the city for a second time. With much of the country in disarray, the crews worked tirelessly to finish Ted's hometown before moving on to the rest of the country.
Free of the sling, Natalie's arms hung by her side. Ted attempted to brush his hand with hers, but she either didn't take the hand, or she wasn't interested. The old Ted would have gotten nervous and worked the incident over in his head hundreds of times. The new Ted took Natalie's wrist and manually linked his fingers with hers.
She looked over at him with fake anger. "Did I say you could hold my hand? Did I give you written permission?"
Ted gave her the look right back. "I like holding hands and I like you. You can say no if you want."
Natalie gripped his hand tighter and let their connection hang loosely between them. "Or maybe I like holding hands too."
Main Street was coming along nicely, with the rebuilt Page's Diner getting a much more prime location. Ted wasn't sure how much the Pennsylvania Tourism Department had to do with that one.
The sign on the front was already halfway constructed, and it read, "Birthplace of Superhero Ted Finley."
Natalie shook her head as she watched how tirelessly the men and women worked to rebuild their lives. "I hope they know that if a super villain comes our way, he's probably just going to destroy Treasure a third time for the heck of it." She looked at Ted. "What are you thinking about?"
Ted sighed. "With Christina heading back to school and you going to college a few weeks later, I'm barely gonna have anybody to talk to."
"There are several wonderful institutions in Ohio that would be happy to accept the boy who saved the world. Do you really have to take off a year?"
Ted shrugged with his available shoulder. "I don't know. Dhiraj thinks there are some really good opportunities to make a difference with my name. Besides, I don't really know who I am without my powers."
Natalie's eyes lit up as she saw something down the street. "I know who you are."
"Oh yeah?"
"Come with me, let me remind you."
Ted laughed when he saw where Natalie was dragging him to. It seemed that one of the first finished structures in all of Treasure was a blacktop basketball court. Sitting in the newly-tied net was a ball that Natalie quickly popped into the air and pulled down to the court.
Ted shook his head. "This is supposed to remind me of who I am?"
Natalie stepped back and easily drained a three-pointer. Ted passed the ball back to her at the top of the key, where she swished another shot.
"It will. As soon as you take your first shot, you will remember that your place in this world is as a terrible basketball player."
Natalie's third shot rimmed out. Ted attempted to put in the rebound, but it bounced too hard off the backboard, the ball bouncing all the way to the opposite side of the court.
Ted scrunched up his face. "This is a part of my identity I rather not make the center of my personality."
Natalie retrieved the ball, Ted caught the pass and held the ball.
He walked up to Natalie, the ball serving as the only distance between them. "You really think I should follow you to school? Do you really want a celebrity boyfriend hanging around all the time?"
Natalie raised an eyebrow. "It's probably for the best. I'm the one who knew you way back when, and you're the one who knew me before I became the NCAA's all-time leading scorer."
Ted took the ball and turned toward the basket. He was well beyond the three-point line. "Let's have a little wager then. If I miss this shot, I'll start applying for schools in Ohio today. I'll forego this year off business and hang out with you."
Natalie laughed. "You're leaving a lot to chance, Ted. What happens if you make it?"
Ted looked to the rim, back to the ball, and to the rim once more. "I get to see what life hands me over the next few months. Doesn't mean I won't visit you, but I would take a chance on life. Oh, and I want a big fat kiss."
Natalie scrunched up her face. "Ugh. Freedom and a kiss? It's a lot, but since you're never going to make the shot, I don't have to worry about paying up."
She leaned on Ted's back as she whispered in his ear. "You're going to choke!"
Ted smiled and thought about what his life might bring him going forward. He didn't have his powers anymore, but he had the girl. He had his friends. He had a world that was free of the bad guys he just wanted to stop.
He took in a deep breath and let it go all the way out of his lungs before he fired the shot high into the air.
The ball floated for what seemed like hours as it landed with a perfect swish through the net.
Ted was as surprised as Natalie was. He pumped his fist into the air a few times and laughed at the ridiculousness of the universe. "I guess I win."
Natalie turned her back on him. "No way. Definitely two out of three."
Ted put his hand on Natalie's waist and turned her toward him. "A bet is a bet."
Natalie rolled her eyes before tilting her head and pressing her lips against his. As he took in the smell and the taste of her kiss, something strange happened. With a tickle of energy at the back of his mind, Ted and Natalie floated several inches into the air. When he closed his eyes and kissed her deeper, all he could see on the back of his eyelids were blue sparks of electricity.
Epilogue
Reena was so used to spending late nights working for the Light Soul Army that she planned out hours and hours of menial tasks. With over a thousand years of war at an end, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with the hours at hand. Due to the bravery of Jennifer Norris, only a few hundred light souls were lost. With both the General and Pluric dead, many former prisoners seemed well on their way to becoming members of a unified society. As she sorted papers of prisoner release forms on her desk, Reena thought that someday it might be possible for light and dark souls to work together.
There was a knock at her door.
"Come in."
Over her desk, she saw the door open, but there was only a small scalp of black hair in view. She sat up tall in her desk chair and realized that the person who just entered was a little boy.
She smiled. "Well, if it isn't our little earthen savior. Weren't we supposed to meet in the morning?"
Riu held the four powerful books from Earth in his hands and gingerly placed them on top of her desk. "I've learned that sometimes it's just better to go ahead and take action. I hope you don't mind, Lieutenant Commander."
Reena shook her head. "Take a seat. You can keep me company while I'm bored out of my mind."
Riu followed the suggestion and looked at her from his chair. "I was wondering, R
eena, why didn't you just send someone for the books? Why didn't you just get a soldier to pick them up and let me go home?"
Reena put her papers down and looked the child square in the eye. "You're a hero, Riu. You know that, but I wasn't sure if you knew what your options were."
"Options?"
"Obviously, you could go home. You could return to the life you once had with your mother. Perhaps you would become a town legend like your grandfather. Revered and loved until your final days."
The boy smirked. "It sounds like you're telling me that isn't the only option."
Reena stood up and walked around to the other side of the desk. She sat on the edge of the top. "While the dark souls only knew about your world because they tried to conquer it, we've never been to your planet before. If we would have come upon you first, we wouldn't have tried to kill you. We would have tried to study your magic."
Riu nodded. "Like a lab experiment?"
"No, not at all." She looked over at her wall, which displayed a vague timeline of the last hundred years of battles fought in the Great War. "We are about to have a universal turning point that's never been seen before. That means great opportunity but it also means new threats."
Riu had a puzzled look on his face. "Okay?"
"I have a theory that we can use your magic to create something even better than the living soul and the protector. Something that would stop the most devastating criminals and disasters that would ever face the Realm of Souls, Earth, and the other worlds. I think that if you stay here, we can save a lot more people together."
Riu stood up and squared his shoulders with Reena. "So, your saying you want to figure out how I tick and how you can use it to protect the universe?"
Reena smiled. "Exactly."
Riu seemed to ponder the offer for over a minute before he spoke again. "All this time, I was convinced that people could have only one destiny. But to have achieved one's true purpose by such a young age would be pretty boring for the next 60 or 70 years." He looked up toward Reena with wide eyes. "Do you think it's possible for someone to have two destinies?"